The curtain-raiser to grand final day had been billed as the biggest game of his young career but the younger brother of NRL superstar Nathan Cleary needed to wait until the 68th minute to come on from the bench.
Warriors halfback Tanah Boyd was instead the star of the show, laying on four tries and scoring one of his own as the NSW Cup Champions rode a 32-6 half-time lead to victory over their Queensland counterparts.
Penrith coach and father Ivan Cleary watched from the sidelines and the crowd let out a cheer when the 20-year-old made the field, ensuring the Cleary name was represented on grand final day for six straight years.
"It was cool to have him here to watch and it was cool to celebrate with him," Cleary junior said at full-time.
The win capped a whirlwind 12 months for Cleary, who moved to Auckland to begin his professional career away from the media spotlight made inevitable by his surname.
"That was the whole point," Cleary said.
"The media is going to be everywhere wherever I go, but it's a little bit quieter in New Zealand so I've been loving it.
"To win two comps in two weeks is mad. It's always cool, we've never done it before as a club so that's even better."
A man-of-the-match performance from fringe first-grader Boyd reiterated the depth of talent at the Warriors in Cleary's preferred halfback spot.
But the young Cleary is still processing his first full season as a professional, and will remain level-headed if a first-grade debut does not come in 2026.
"Next year, the year after. I'm just trying to play. I haven't got a timeline on it, I'm just trying to do whatever," he said.
"I've got a few weeks off now so I'll probably do it (take stock of 2025) then. It was awesome, it's been a mad move for my footy.
"The club's been so good to me, all the boys, all the coaching staff has been mad. It's a credit to them."
Halfback Boyd had won all 16 of his NSW Cup games for the Warriors this year before being parachuted into the depleted first-grade side with mixed results on the run to finals.
But he was the undisputed star on Sunday.
Boyd put Ali Leiataua over for first points with a cut-out pass, kicked high for Setu Tu's first try on the right edge, then backed a flying Sam Healey through the middle for a try.
He threw the last pass for both of Taine Tuaupiki's tries as the Warriors ensured the Bears were never truly in the contest.
